Fascinating food in New York and occasionally farther afield

Catmint Wheel Cake

Che lun bing, literally "car wheel cake," is a Taiwanese name for the centuries-old Japanese confection called imagawayaki. Assembly is simple. To form the bottom half of the "wheel," a pancake-like batter is piped into a shallow mold. Before it sets fully, a filling is added; red bean paste is the most traditional, but a variety of other sweet and savory flavors are increasingly common in both Taiwan and Japan. Then the top half, often concave to allow room for the filling, is fitted to the bottom.

Finally, the wheel cake needs a couple of minutes to cool. A filling such as cream custard (shown, $3.50) should not be mouth-numbingly molten — warm and gooey will do.